The State can be directed to pay appropriate compensation when it or its officers infringe a person's fundamental right of life and personal liberty as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution.

AJIT SINGH, J.:- By this letter, which has been registered as Writ Petition, the petitioner has prayed for a direction against the State Government to pay him compensation for his illegal detention of almost five

2. Since the petitioner was not assisted by any lawyer, we thought it proper to appoint Shri P. K. Kaurav as Amicus Curiae who willingly agreed to provide all possible legal assistance in the matter.

3. The facts in short are these. The petitioner is a villager. He lives in village Shrinagin-umaria in District Narsinghpur. His trouble started from 25.5.2000 when the police of Narsinghpur police station searched him at Itwara market on information that he was involved in drug peddling. During search the police recovered 150 grams of opium from his possession. He was, therefore, arrested on that day itself and after investigation put to trial in the Court of Special Judge, Narsinghpur, vide Special Case No. 6/2000. The Special Judge by his judgment dated 15.9.2000 held the petitioner guilty of the offence under section 18 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 and sentenced him to ten years rigorous imprisonment along with an additional sentence of fine of Rs.1,00,000/-. The petitioner challenged his conviction and sentence by filing Criminal Appeal No.2478j 2000 before this Court. A learned single Judge upheld the conviction of petitioner vide judgment dated 30.10.2003 but reduced the sentence of imprisonment to three years and five months. He also reduced the sentence of fine to Rs.500j- or, in default of payment of fine, to undergo one month imprisonment.

4. On 7.11.2003 a copy of the judgment of this Court delivered in the criminal appeal of petitioner along with a certificate was sent to the Court of Special Judge under section 388 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for information and further action. The record of the Special Judge which we summoned reveals that both these documents were received by the Reader of that Court on 11.11.2003 and on 10.12.2003 the presenting clerk sent the record to the Record Room of District Court. Further, as per the record of criminal appeal. on 11.11.2003 a similar copy of the judgment and certificate were also sent by the High Court to the Superintendent, District Jail, Narsinghpur, for information.

5. Thus, in the normal course, even if the petitioner did not deposit the fine, he ought to have been released from 2 jail in the month of November 2003. But he was not so released. Neither the modified warrant, as required under Rule 315 of the Criminal Courts Rules and Orders, was issued by the Special Court for his release nor the jail authorities approached the Special Court in this regard. The petitioner was finally released after almost five years of illegal detention on 30.8.2008 when his brother Kamal filed an application in the Special Court pursuant to which modified warrant was issued. The petitioner, shattered by his prolonged illegal detention for no fault of his, has therefore approached this Court for being compensated by the State Government on the ground of violation of his fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

6. The respondents, who are essentially the jail authorities. in their return have denied any negligence on their part in releasing the petitioner from jail before 30.8.2008. According to them neither any intimation regarding the judgment passed in criminal appeal by this Court was received in jail nor any modified release warrant was issued by the Special Court earlier to 30.8.2008 and, therefore, the petitioner could not be released. The respondents have also stated in their return that the petitioner, after his conviction was transferred to the Central Jail, Sagar, on 17.9.2000 as Narsinghpur jail at that time was only a sub-jail and in the year 2008 when the sub jail was upgraded as District Jail, he was again retransferred to Narsinghpur jail on 17.5.2008. In the return the respondents have, how